She took his hand and smiled. “So, where are we going?”
There was no arguing with her. She’d attached herself to him and wouldn’t go anywhere, no matter what he said. The truth was, he appreciated the company. The beast softened around her. Its rage would not be quite so intense so long as she was around.
“I’m going up to the mines. If we make enough commotion, maybe we can cause one to collapse.”
Her eyes widened. He laughed and tugged her toward the truck parked on the side of the road. Cash kept an eye out for Callum. Ember had dragged Cash out of the bar the moment Callum stopped attacking. Neither Cash nor Ember knew where her father had gone.
Cash waited for Callum to leap out of every shadow until they were inside the truck. Every bump in the road eased Cash’s worry. Soon enough, the rolling hills of the mines appeared before them.
Ember leaned forward, her lips parted in awe. She cast a sidelong glance in his direction. “This is where Gale and Baylee banged for the first time.”
Cash’s beast licked its muzzle and filled him with a greedy hunger. It would forgive Cash for his cowardice if he fucked Ember until she screamed his name.
“Nope,” he said to the beast.
“Huh?” Ember cocked her head. “I think I’m right. Baylee told me herself.”
“Oh, uh…” Cash fumbled. “I, uh, wasn’t talking to you.”
Confusion flickered over her face. It quickly faded, replaced by a devilish grin. He watched her bite her tongue, a startlingly enticing gesture. Cash balled his fists to keep from grabbing her and pulling her into his lap.
There wasn’t enough room inside the truck to do what he wanted. Yet, her smile challenged him. The gleam in her eyes told him that she wanted it, too. All he had to do was reach across the space between them and pull her close.
“I’m not as crude as my cousin,” Cash said, instead.
Ember’s lips formed a pout. Cash bit the inside of his cheek as his beast struggled to reach out to her. What was it about this woman? How could she be the source of his calm and the fuel to his fire all at once? She was a storm, with calm at the center.
Cash got out of the truck. He heard her feet hit the ground on the other side. He rolled his shoulders and prepared himself to shift. The beast growled at him. It said the one thing he did not expect.
No.
13
Ember rounded the front of the truck and found Cash looking very confused and staring at the ground. For a moment, she regarded him with her hands on her hips. Then, his gaze lifted to hers, and she saw the swirling light in his eyes that stole her breath.
The glow of his beast illuminated the dark curls that fell over his face and highlighted his cheekbones. It drew her closer to him, close enough that she could hear his sharp inhale. He watched her but made no move to reach out to her.
Ember was tired of being held at an arm’s distance. She put one hand over his heart and waited for him to push her away. When he didn’t, she wound an arm around the back of his neck. Cash watched her. Maybe he didn’t have the guts to make the next move, but Ember sure did.
She shoved him back against the truck, rose onto the tips of her toes, and claimed his mouth. Cash unleashed a guttural growl and pulled her tight to him. One hand went to the back of her head, where his fingers threaded through her hair. He yanked her head back and lowered his lips to her throat.
Her approach had snapped something within him. Whatever had been holding him back suddenly vanished without a trace. He bit his way down her neck until he reached her shoulder. She waited for him to mark her. The promise of validation was so close, yet so far. When his lips passed over her shoulder without even a hint of teeth, she nearly wept.
Instead of giving in to her tears, Ember pulled him into a kiss once more. She explored his lips, but all trace of the earlier fight had vanished by now. He’d been right when he said he was hard to kill. When she pulled back, there was barely a hint of a bruise on his face anymore.
“I want you, Cash Montoya,” she breathed. “I want you more than I can describe.”
His growl turned into a groan. “It’s too dangerous.”
“No one gets to tell me what’s too dangerous for me,” she said.
Ember wasn’t going to bend to anyone’s will. She was going to take what she wanted from now on. She dropped to her knees, uncaring that there was gravel under her. The tiny rocks couldn’t distract her from her desire.
She laid a finger on the button of his jeans. The way Cash looked down at her with heat in his eyes told her to go on. The button flew open at her touch. She hooked her fingers in the waistband of his jeans and tugged them over his hips. His manhood wasn’t yet fully at attention, but she could change that.
Ember took him in her mouth and suckled the soft skin until it grew taut against her tongue. She took him deeper and deeper until he fell back against the truck and released the deepest groan of satisfaction she’d ever heard. Pleasure pooled between her own legs. Just knowing that she could draw sounds like that from him made her core throb in anticipation.
Cash touched her hair. He was tender, at first. As she worked him, his grip grew tighter until he had a fistful of her hair in his hand. She didn’t mind. She liked it. He needed her in a way he could no longer hide. His feelings for her were laid bare when she held him like this.
“Damn vixen,” he whispered.
Ember pulled back only to laugh. Here, far away from family and consequences, Ember had never felt freer. She licked a bead of moisture from the tip of his cock and reveled in the shudder that passed over him.
“Not enough.” He pulled her to her feet.
Ember swayed, but he held her close, so she wouldn’t fall. He cupped the back of her head and kissed her. His tongue probed the spaces he’d filled only a moment ago. Meanwhile, his other hand slid down the back of her jeans until her ass filled his palm. He squeezed her tight and conjured more warmth in her core.
She didn’t know if she could handle much more. She already felt about to burst from the searing heat churning inside her. If he couldn’t quench her need soon, she would turn to ash in his hands. Not even her dragon blood could save her from this kind of inferno.
As if he had read her mind, Cash unbuttoned her jeans. Then he paused, much to her dismay. He pulled back, his chest heaving.
“What is it?” Ember could barely hide the tremor of disappointment in her voice.
“This isn’t the right place,” Cash managed to say.
He glanced around, though Ember wasn’t sure what he was looking for. She didn’t care where they did this, so long as she got the release that she’d been waiting for all this time. Years and years of longing had led her to this moment, and she wasn’t going to let it get away.
“I’m not Gale. I’m not going to be a quick fuck,” Cash snarled.
He lifted Ember so that she could wrap her legs around him while he walked. He left the truck behind. She couldn’t see where he was taking her, but that didn’t matter. Cash would take care of her. He would keep her safe.
Ember tucked her face into his shoulder and inhaled his scent, savoring it while she could. They might have this time together, but there were things she needed to do and places she needed to go. Cash couldn’t follow her everywhere.
He balanced her weight in one arm while rummaging for his keys. Ember twisted and took in the building he’d brought her to. From the outside, it looked decrepit. The windows had been boarded over. It was one strong breeze away from being condemned.
But Cash carried her inside, to an unexpected pile of pillows. After he laid her down, she took in her surroundings. The interior was dark, but Cash took his time and lit several lanterns around the room. The soft glow revealed more piles of pillows and blankets. They all smelled fresh, like they were regularly laundered.
“This is my hide-away,” Cash confessed.
Ember stared at him. The little dragon wings in her heart fluttered happily. Sharing a secret like this
was a big step, far bigger than she expected. She sat upright and smiled.
Cash finished lighting the last lantern. He passed several old guitars, his attention on her. He lowered himself over her, making her lean back into the pillows once more. This time, he kissed his way down her exposed throat before his teeth clamped onto her shoulder.
Ember grabbed his sides. Her breath trembled. She wanted to beg, but didn’t dare make a sound for fear that he would run away from her. His bite was agonizingly slow. He drew it out with each heartbeat until she thought she might die from anticipation. Finally, her skin broke. Blood dripped down her skin, but she couldn’t have cared less about the mess.
Pleasure erupted into waves of sensation that made her toes curl. She whimpered. Cash laughed, a deep and dark sound that heightened the pleasure already inside her.
“Shirt off,” he growled. “I want to see you. All of you.”
Ember considered disobeying, but her hands were ahead of her. She pulled the shirt over her head and tossed it aside. Cash leaned back. His gaze raked over her and caught on her bra. The corner of his mouth lifted. He ran a finger under the bottom of her bra, making her shudder from the light touch.
“It’s cute, but it needs to go, too.”
She sat up and nipped the tip of his nose. “Then take it off me.”
Cash didn’t hesitate. He reached around her, and with a flick of his wrist, the bra came undone. She peeled it away slowly. Cash’s gaze never left her.
This was unlike anything she’d imagined. Ember had dreamed of this moment since the first letter she wrote to him. She’d imagined tenderness, imagined the back of a car, imagined the storage room at the bar. Not once had she envisioned this.
Cash lowered himself over her. He took one nipple in his mouth while he pinched the other between his fingers. Ember fought the moan creeping up her throat at first. Then she remembered they were far from anyone who might overhear.
As Cash teased another wave of pleasure out of her, Ember moaned happily. He flicked her nipple with his tongue, over and over and over. His hand left her breast and slid down her stomach toward her unbuttoned pants. She arched into him.
She explored the planes of his muscles beneath his shirt and ran her fingertips over the scars and lines she found there. This was her chance to memorize every inch of him. She didn’t know if she would ever get this again.
The future held too many possibilities, too many people waiting to take what she wanted from her. Her heart had only ever wanted Cash. This man, with his crooning voice and the music he spun from his soul, was the only person who could ever make her feel this way.
He groaned when he found her already wet and wanting. His fingers delved between her folds and drew circles over her most sensitive parts.
“I will have you writhing beneath me,” he said. The rumble of his dragon invaded his voice.
Ember paused and grasped the sides of his face. She stared him dead in the eye as she said, “I want both man and beast. If you think you’re going to deprive me of him, then you’re wrong, beast.”
Cash, with his eyes bathed in dragon light, glared at her. His lips curled away from his teeth. Hand at her throat, he shoved her back into the pillows. “You won’t care when I’m finished with you.”
Ember rolled her eyes. Her core still throbbed, begging her for everything the beast offered. But she wasn’t going to indulge the beast’s habit of taking over. This wasn’t a game to her. She wasn’t going to take whichever side of Cash showed up.
She wanted him. Whole.
“He denied me earlier,” the beast snarled through Cash’s lips.
“Get used to it. I’m going to deny you right now, too.” She covered her breasts with her hands and waited for him to take the hint.
The beast wasn’t going to force himself on her. He wanted her willing and happy. She knew because the beast wasn’t fighting their mate bond. That side of Cash probably loved her. She needed his other half to love her, too.
“Don’t you want this?” the beast asked as he palmed her womanhood.
She swallowed the sound of pleasure that tried to escape her.
“Cash,” she said, softly. “Come back to me, Cash. I need you here with me.”
“He’s weak. He can’t handle you. He won’t even know what to do with you.”
“Cash, baby.”
The light in his eyes flickered, like power going in and out. Then, all of a sudden, it died. Cash scowled, looking confused. Ember let out the breath she’d been holding and pulled Cash into a tight hug.
He buried his face in her chest and grumbled something she couldn’t quite make out. Ember waited for the tension in his shoulders to ease away before she asked him to repeat himself.
Cash rose but didn’t look her in the eye. “That damn beast ruins everything good.”
Ember could see the hint of light in his eyes, like a flicker in the dark distance. The beast hadn’t fully retreated. It had given her what she wanted. She had both man and beast now.
“I don’t know if you noticed,” she said with a smirk. “I’m still half-naked and very ready to go.”
Cash lifted himself, his weight on the hands braced on either side of her. As if he couldn’t help it, his gaze trailed down the front of her. It caught on her taut nipples and the open fly of her jeans. Ember helped him by shimmying out of her pants. She kicked them aside and lounged beneath him in only her underwear.
This wasn’t how she imagined her first time with Cash. It was even better because the look of pure hunger that overcame his face delighted her. He’d never looked at any woman like that before. Though many had tried to capture his attention after his performances, none had ever succeeded.
Not like her.
She had Cash’s full attention. As he traced the shape of her bottom lip with his thumb. She took it into her mouth and flicked the sensitive skin with her tongue. Cash groaned and nearly dropped his full weight onto her. He caught himself at the last second.
He pulled his thumb away and replaced it with his own lips. Their foreplay began anew as he kissed her. His hand slid beneath her underwear. She was still wet, still wanting. Though she’d come close earlier, she hadn’t finished. It seemed that he could pick up where he left off, though.
The rush of pleasure was quick and heady. She drifted on the waves that cascaded over her, anchored only by Cash’s mouth on hers. Just when she thought she could handle no more, his fingers moved lower. He brought her in great waves, each one more powerful than the last. No sensation could ever compare to the magic he wrought with only his fingers.
Or so she thought. Cash flipped her over. She let out a surprised squeak. He lifted her hips, so that she was on her knees, and tugged her panties down.
“Are you ready?” he asked. A second later she felt the press of his cock against her folds, there but not yet entering her.
He rocked back and forth, toying with the most sensitive parts of her. Though each stroke filled her with small fireworks, she wanted more. A hunger gnawed at her core. The fire sparked and popped, begging him to enter her.
“I’m ready,” she breathed, unable to use her voice with her core so tight.
Cash pulled back. He set the head of his cock against her entrance. She inhaled, excited. He took his time and teased her until she could barely handle it any longer. Then, inch by inch, he delved inside her. It seemed forever until he was hilt-deep, but she let out a sated sigh once he was done.
But then he pushed deeper. She moaned, surprised. Deeper and deeper he pressed. She couldn’t believe there was that much of him. She’d taken him in her mouth earlier, but the hand she’d kept around the base of his shaft had deceived her. Now that he filled her, she had to breathe deep and wait for her body to adjust to the full length of him.
It didn’t take her long. Her body had been made to fit his. Cash began with soft strokes. He found the place inside her that struck just the right note. Pleasure radiated from her core to her knees and down t
o her toes.
“Will you come when I tell you to?” Cash asked.
She savored the control in his voice. The low gravel in it filled her with anticipation. He gripped her hips, fingertips digging in, and asked her again.
“Yes!” She could barely breathe, but she somehow managed to get the single word out.
“Good girl,” he purred.
Ember had no idea that she would like to be called such things, but it worked. Cash owned her in that instant. Nothing and no one else could make her feel this way. No one could hold her in the way that he held her.
His thrusts became more intense. Her pleasure doubled, tripled, it overwhelmed her until she was face down in the pillows, unable to do anything other than moan.
“I didn’t tell you that you could finish yet,” Cash purred.
She whimpered. She was so close. But she pulled herself together enough to say, “I haven’t.”
“You’re such a good girl for me.” The rumble of his beast grew stronger and stronger.
She trusted the beast not to take over. It would get what it wanted. She was getting what she wanted. Everyone was happy.
“When you come, scream my name.” Cash raked a hand down her back. The touch sent ripples through her pleasure, making the dam shudder.
“I’m so close!”
He slammed home in her. Once. Twice. A third time.
Ember felt like she might shatter and become a being of pure sensation.
“Come for me,” Cash commanded. “Scream my name while you finish.”
As if he had the key all this time, the floodgates opened. She succumbed to an orgasm unlike any other she’d ever known. It burst through her in pulses of pleasure. Cash’s name sat on her lips. She tried and tried to form it, but the pleasure had scrambled her.
Cash slowed his pace and teased her. “You promised me.”
More. She needed more. Ember managed to whisper his name. Then she mumbled it into the pillows. Then, finally, she screamed it until dust rained down from above.
Cash pumped into her before finally pulling out. Hot seed spilled down the back of her legs. She listened to the sound of his climax and felt pride swelling in her chest. She sighed and collapsed into the pillows.
A Song of Destiny (Great Plains Dragon Feud Book 2) Page 9